THE FORD.
Two months had elapsed since the last drop of rain had closed the
wet season. It was 15th November, and the river had fallen to so
low an ebb that the stream was reduced to a breadth of about
eighty yards of bright and clear water, rushing in places with
great rapidity through the centre of its broad and stony bed,
while in sudden bends of the channel it widened into still, and
exceedingly deep pools. We were encamped exactly upon the verge
of a perpendicular cliff, from which there was a rugged path to
the dry channel some thirty feet below, which shelved rapidly
towards the centre occupied by the stream. In this spot were
powerful rapids, above which to our left was a ford, at this time
about waist-deep, upon a bed of rock that divided the lower
rapids from a broad and silent pool above: across this ford the
women of the village daily passed to collect their faggots of
wood from the bushes on the opposite side. I had shot a
crocodile, and a marabou stork, and I was carefully plucking the
plume of beautiful feathers from the tail of the bird, surrounded
by a number of Arabs, when I observed a throng of women, each
laden with a bundle of wood, crossing the ford in single file
from the opposite bank. Among them were two young girls of about
fifteen, and I remarked that these, instead of marching in a line
with the women, were wading hand-in-hand in dangerous proximity
to the head of the rapids. A few seconds later, I noticed that
they were inclining their bodies up stream, and were evidently
struggling with the current. Hardly had I pointed out the danger
to the men around me, when the girls clung to each other, and
striving against their fate they tottered down the stream towards
the rapids, which rushed with such violence that the waves were
about two feet high. With praiseworthy speed the Arabs started to
their feet, and dashed down the deep descent towards the river,
but before they had reached half way, the girls uttered a shriek,
lost their footing, and in another instant they threw their arms
wildly above their heads, and were hurried away in the foam of
the rapids. One disappeared immediately; the other was visible,
as her long black hair floated on the surface; she also sank.
Presently, about twenty yards below the spot, a pair of naked
arms protruded high above the surface, with ivory bracelets upon
the wrists, and twice the hands clapped together as though
imploring help; again she disappeared. The water was by this time
full of men, who had rushed to the rescue; but they had foolishly
jumped in at the spot where they had first seen the girls, who
were of course by this time carried far away by the torrent. Once
more, farther down the river, the hands and bracelets appeared;
again they wildly clapped together, and in the clear water we
could plainly see the dark hair beneath. Still, she sank again;
but almost immediately she rose head and shoulders above the
surface, and thrice she again clapped her hands for aid.
This was her last effort; she disappeared. By the time several
men had wisely run along the bank below the tail of the rapids,
and having formed a line across a very narrow portion of the
stream, one of them suddenly clutched an object beneath the water
and in another moment he held the body of the girl in his arms.
Of course she was dead? or a fit subject for the Royal Humane
Society?--So I supposed; when to our intense astonishment, she no
sooner was brought to the shore than she gave herself a shake,
threw back her long hair, wrung out and arranged her dripping
rahat, and walked leisurely back to the ford, which she crossed
with the assistance of the Arab who had saved her.
What she was composed of I cannot say; whether she was the
offspring of a cross between mermaid and hippopotamus, or hatched
from the egg of a crocodile, I know not, but a more wonderfully
amphibious being I have rarely seen.
During this painful scene, in which one girl had been entirely
lost, the mother of her who was saved had rushed to meet her
child as she landed from the ford; but instead of clasping her to
her heart, as we had expected, she gave her a maternal welcome by
beating her most unmercifully with her fists, bestowing such
lusty blows upon her back that we could distinctly hear them at
a distance of fifty yards; this punishment, we were given to
understand, served her perfectly right, for having been foolish
enough to venture near the rapids. The melancholy death-howl was
now raised by all the women in the village, while the men
explored the river in search of the missing body. On the
following morning the sheik appeared at my tent, with a number of
Arabs who had been unsuccessful, and he begged me, if possible,
to suggest some means for the discovery of the girl, as her
remains should be properly interred.
I proposed that they should procure a log of heavy wood, as near
as possible the size of the girl, and that this should be thrown
into the rapids, in the exact spot where she had disappeared;
this, being nearly the same weight, would be equally acted upon
by the stream, and would form a guide which they should follow
until it should lead them to some deep eddy, or whirlpool formed
by a backwater; should the pilot log remain in such a spot, they
would most probably find the body in the same place. The men
immediately procured a log, and set off with the sheik himself to
carry out the experiment. In the afternoon, we heard a terrible
howling and crying, and a crowd of men and women returned to the
village, some of whom paid us a visit; they had found the body.
The log had guided them about two miles distant, and had remained
stationary in a backwater near where I had shot the bull
hippopotamus; in this still pool, close to the bank, they almost
immediately discovered the girl floating slightly beneath the
surface. No crocodile had injured the body, but the fish had
destroyed a portion of the face; it was already so far advanced
in decomposition, that it was necessary to bury it upon the
margin of the river, at the spot where it was discovered. The
people came to thank me for having originated the idea, and the
very agreeable sheik spent the evening with us with a number of
his people; this was his greatest delight, and we had become
thoroughly accustomed to his daily visits. At such times we sat
upon an angarep, while he sat upon a mat stretched upon the
ground, with a number of his men, who formed a half-circle around
him; he then invariably requested that we would tell him stories
about England. Of these he never tired, and with the assistance
of Mahomet we established a regular entertainment; the great
amusement of the Arabs being the mistakes that they readily
perceived were made by Mahomet as interpreter. We knew sufficient
Arabic to check and to explain his errors.
The death of the girl gave rise to a conversation upon drowning:
this turned upon the subject of the girl herself and ended in a
discussion upon the value of women; the question originating in
a lament on the part of the sheik that a nice young girl had been
drowned instead of a useless old woman. The sheik laid down the
law with great force, "that a woman was of no use when she ceased
to be young, unless she was a good strong person who could grind
corn, and carry water from the river;" in this assertion he was
seconded, and supported unanimously by the crowd of Arabs
present.
Now it was always a common practice among the Arab women, when
they called upon my wife, to request her to show her hands; they
would then feel the soft palms and exclaim in astonishment, "Ah!
she has never ground corn!" that being the duty of a wife unless
she is rich enough to possess slaves. Sheik Achmet requested me
to give him some account of our domestic arrangements in England;
I did this as briefly as possible, explaining how ladies received
our devoted attentions, extolling their beauty and virtue, and in
fact giving him an idea that England was paradise, and that the
ladies were angels. I described the variety of colours; that
instead of all being dark, some were exceedingly fair; that
others had red hair; that we had many bright black eyes, and some
irresistible dark blue; and at the close of my descriptions I
believe the sheik and his party felt disposed to emigrate
immediately to the chilly shores of Great Britain; they asked,
"How far off is your country?" "Well," said the sheik, with a
sigh, "that must be a very charming country; how could you
possibly come away from all your beautiful wives? True, you have
brought one with you: she is, of course, the youngest and most
lovely; perhaps those you have left at home are the OLD ONES!" I
was obliged to explain, that we are contented with one wife, and
that even were people disposed to marry two, or more, they would
be punished with imprisonment. This announcement was received
with a general expression of indignation; the sheik and his
party, who a few minutes ago were disposed to emigrate, and
settle upon our shores, would now at the most have ventured upon
a return ticket. After some murmurs of disapprobation, there was
a decided expression of disbelief in my last statement. "Why,"
said the sheik, "the fact is simply IMPOSSIBLE! How CAN a man be
contented with one wife? It is ridiculous, absurd! What is he to
do when she becomes old? When she is young, if very lovely,
perhaps, he might be satisfied with her, but even the young must
some day grow old, and the beauty must fade. The man does not
fade like the woman; therefore, as he remains the same for many
years, but she changes in a few years, Nature has arranged that
the man shall have young wives to replace the old; does not the
Prophet allow it? Had not our forefathers many wives? and shall
we have but one? Look at yourself. Your wife is young, and" (here
the sheik indulged in compliments), "but in ten years she will
not be the same as now; will you not then let her have a nice
house all to herself, when she grows old, while you take a fresh
young wife?"
I was obliged to explain to the sheik that, first, our ladies
never looked old; secondly, they improved with age; and thirdly,
that we were supposed to love our wives with greater ardour as
they advanced in years. This was received with an ominous shake
of the head, coupled with the exclamation, "Mashallah!" repeated
by the whole party. This was the moment for a few remarks on
polygamy: I continued, "You men are selfish; you expect from the
woman that which you will not give in return, 'constancy and
love;' if your wife demanded a multiplicity of husbands, would it
not be impossible to love her? how can she love you if you insist
upon other wives ?" "Ah!" he replied, "our women are different to
yours, they would not love anybody; look at your wife, she has
travelled with you far away from her own country, and her heart
is stronger than a man's; she is afraid of nothing, because you
are with her; but our women prefer to be far away from their
husbands, and are only happy when they have nothing whatever to
do. You don't understand our women, they are ignorant creatures,
and when their youth is past are good for nothing but to work.
You have explained your customs; your women are adored by the
men, and you are satisfied with one wife, either young or old;
now I will explain our customs. I have four wives; as one has
become old, I have replaced her with a young one; here they all
are" (he now marked four strokes upon the sand with his stick).
"This one carries water; that grinds the corn; this makes the
bread; the last does not do much, as she is the youngest, and my
favourite; and if they neglect their work, they get a taste of
this!" (shaking a long and, tolerably thick stick). "Now, that's
the difference between our establishments; yours is well adapted
for your country, and ours is the best plan for our own."
I would not contradict the sheik; the English greatcoat was not
the garment for the scorching Soudan, and English ideas were
equally unsuited to the climate and requirements of the people.
The girls were utterly ignorant, and the Arabs had never heard of
a woman who could read and write; they were generally pretty when
young, but they rapidly grew old after childbirth. Numbers of
young girls and women were accustomed to bathe perfectly naked in
the river just before our tent; I employed them to catch small
fish for baits and for hours they would amuse themselves in this
way, screaming with excitement and fun, and chasing the small fry
with their long clothes in lieu of nets; their figures were
generally well shaped, but both men and women fell off in the
development of the legs. Very few had well-shaped calves, but
remarkably thin and cleanly formed ankles, with very delicately
shaped feet. The men were constantly bathing in the clear waters
of the Atbara, and were perfectly naked, although close to the
women; we soon became accustomed to this daily scene, as we do at
Brighton and other English bathing-towns.
Our life at Wat el Negur was anything but disagreeable; we had
acquired great fame in several ways: the game that I shot I
divided among the people; they also took an interest in the
fishing, as they generally had a large share of all that I
caught; my wife was very kind to all the children, and to the
women, who came from great distances to see her; and my character
as a physician having been spread far and wide, we became very
celebrated people. Of course I was besieged daily by the maimed,
the halt, and the blind, and the poor people, with much
gratitude, would insist upon bringing fowls and milk in return
for our attention to their wants. These I would never accept, but
on many occasions, upon my refusal, the women would untie the
legs of a bundle of chickens, and allow them to escape in our
camp, rather than be compelled to return with their offering.
Even the fakeers (priests) were our great friends, although we
were Christians, and in my broken Arabic, with the assistance of
Mahomet, I used to touch upon theological subjects. At first they
expressed surprise that such clever people as the English should
worship idols made of wood, or other substances, by the hands of
man. I explained to them their error, as we were Protestants in
England, who had protested against the practice of bowing down
before the figure of Christ or any other form; that we simply
worshipped God through Christ, believing Him to be both Saviour
and Mediator. I recalled to their recollection that Mahomet and
they themselves believed in Christ, as the greatest of all the
prophets, therefore in reality there was not so very wide a gulf
between their creed and our own; both acknowledging the same God;
both believing in Christ, although differing in the degree of
that belief. I allowed that Mahomet was a most wonderful man, and
that, if a cause is to be valued by its effect, he was as much
entitled to the name of prophet as Moses, the first law-giver.
Our arguments never became overheated, as these simple yet
steadfast Arabs, who held the faith of their forefathers
untarnished and uncorrupted by schisms, spoke more with reverence
to the great spirit of religion, than with the acrimony of
debate. "My brothers," I would reply, "we are all God's
creatures, believing in the one great Spirit who created us and
all things, who made this atom of dust that we call our world, a
tiny star amongst the hosts of heaven; and we, differing in
colours and in races, are striving through our short but weary
pilgrimage to the same high point; to the same mountain-top,
where we trust to meet when the journey shall be accomplished.
That mountain is steep, the country is desert; is there but one
path, or are there many? Your path and mine are different, but
with God's help they will lead us to the top. Shall we quarrel
over the well upon the thirsty way? or shall we drink together,
and be thankful for the cool waters, and strive to reach the end?
Drink from my water-skin when upon the desert we thirst together,
scorched by the same sun, exhausted by the same simoom, cooled by
the same night, until we sleep at the journey's end, and together
thank God, Christian and Mahometan, that we have reached our
home."
The good fakeers rejoiced in such simple explanations, and they
came to the conclusion that we were "all the same with a little
difference," thus we were the best of friends with all the
people. If not exactly a cure of their Mahometan souls, they
acknowledged that I held the key to their bowels, which were
entirely dependent upon my will, when the crowd of applicants
daily thronged my medicine chest, and I dispensed jalap, calomel,
opium, and tartar emetic. Upon one occasion a woman brought me a
child of about fifteen months old, with a broken thigh; she had
fallen asleep upon her camel, and had allowed the child to fall
from her arms. I set the thigh, and secured it with gum bandages,
as the mimosas afforded the requisite material. About twenty
yards of old linen in bandages three inches broad, soaked in
thick gum-water, will form the best of splints when it becomes
dry and hard, which in that climate it will do in about an hour.
There was one complaint that I was obliged to leave entirely in
the hands of the Arabs, this was called "frendeet;" it was almost
the certain effect of drinking the water that in the rainy season
is accumulated in pools upon the surface of the rich table lands,
especially between the Atbara and Katariff; the latter is a
market-town about sixty miles from Wat el Negur, on the west bank
of the river. Frendeet commences with a swelling of one of the
limbs, generally accompanied with intense pain; this is caused by
a worm of several feet in length, but no thicker than
pack-thread. The Arab cure is to plaster the limb with cow-dung,
which is their common application for almost all complaints. They
then proceed to make what they term "doors," through which the
worm will be able to escape; but, should it not be able to find
one exit, they make a great number by the pleasant and simple
operation of pricking the skin in many places with a red-hot
lance. In about a week after these means of escape are provided,
one of the wounds will inflame, and assume the character of a
small boil, from which the head of the worm will issue. This is
then seized, and fastened either to a small reed or piece of
wood, which is daily and most gently wound round, until, in the
course of about a week, the entire worm will be extracted, unless
broken during the operation, in which case severe inflammation
will ensue.
It was the 22d November, and the time was approaching when the
grass throughout the entire country would be sufficiently dry to
be fired; we accordingly prepared for our expedition, and it was
necessary to go to Katariff to engage men, and to procure a slave
in the place of old Masara, whose owner would not trust her in
the wild countries we were about to visit. We therefore mounted
our horses, and in two days we reached Katariff, rather less than
sixty miles distant. The journey was exceedingly uninteresting,
as the route lay across the monotonous flats of rich table land,
without a single object to attract the attention, except the long
line of villages which at intervals of about six miles lined the
way. During the dry weather (the present season) there was not a
drop of water in this country, except in wells far apart. Thus
the cattle within twenty miles of the Atbara were driven every
alternate day that great distance to the river, as the wells
would not supply the large herds of the Arabs; although the
animals could support life by drinking every alternate day, the
cows were dry upon the day of fasting; this proved a certain
amount of suffering.
Upon arrival at Katariff we were hospitably received by a Greek
merchant, Michel Georgis, a nephew of the good old man from whom
we had received much attention while at Cassala. The town was a
miserable place, composed simply of the usual straw huts of the
Arabs; the market, or "Soog," was bi-weekly. Katariff was also
known by the name of "Soog Abou Sinn."
I extract an entry from my journal.--"The bazaar held here is
most original. Long rows of thatched open sheds, about six feet
high, form a street; in these sheds the dealers squat with their
various wares exposed on the ground before them. In one, are
Manchester goods, the calicoes are printed in England, with the
name of the Greek merchant to whom they are consigned; in
another, is a curious collection of small wares, as though
samples of larger quantities, but in reality they are the
dealer's whole stock of sundries, which he deals out to numerous
purchasers in minute lots, for paras and half piastres, ginger,
cloves, chills, cardamoms, pepper, turmeric, orris root, saffron,
sandal-wood, musk, a species of moss that smells like patchouli,
antimony for colouring the eyes and lips, henna, glass beads,
cowrie shells, steels for striking fire, &c. &c. Other stalls
contain sword-blades, files, razors, and other hardware, all of
German manufacture, and of the most rubbishing kind. Mingled with
these, in the same stall, are looking-glasses, three inches
square, framed in coloured paper; slippers, sandals, &c. Other
sheds contain camel ropes and bells, saddlery of all descriptions
that are in general use, shoes, &c.; but the most numerous stalls
are those devoted to red pepper, beads, and perfumery."
Beyond the main street of straw booths are vendors of
miscellaneous goods, squatting under temporary fan-shaped straw
screens, which are rented at the rate of five paras per day
(about a farthing); beneath these may be seen vendors of butter
and other grease, contained in a large jar by their side, while
upon a stone before them are arranged balls of fat which are sold
at five paras a lump. Each morsel is about the size of a
cricket-ball: this is supposed to be the smallest quantity
required for one dressing of the hair. Other screens are occupied
by dealers in ropes, mats, leathern bags, girbas or water-skins,
gum sacks, beans, waker, salt, sugar, coffee, &c. &c. Itinerant
snmiths are at work, making knife-blades, repairing spears, &c.
with small boys working the bellows, formed of simple leathern
bags that open and close by the pressure of two sticks. The
object that draws a crowd around him is a professional
story-teller, wonderfully witty, no doubt, as, being mounted upon
a camel from which he addresses his audience, he provokes roars
of merriment; his small eyes, overhanging brow, large mouth, with
thin and tightly compressed lips and deeply dimpled cheeks,
combined with an unlimited amount of brass, completed a picture
of professional shrewdness.
Camels, cattle, and donkeys are also exposed for sale. The
average price for a baggage camel is twelve dollars; a hygeen,
from thirty to sixty dollars; a fat ox, from six to ten dollars
(the dollar at four shillings).
Katariff is on the direct merchants' route from Cassala to
Khartoum. The charge for transport is accordingly low; a camel
loaded with six cantars (600 lbs.) from this spot to Cassala, can
be hired for one dollar, and from thence to Souakim, on the Red
Sea, for five dollars; thus all produce is delivered from
Katariff to the shipping port, at a charge of four shillings per
hundred pounds. Cotton might be grown to any extent on this
magnificent soil, and would pay the planter a large profit, were
regular steam communication established at a reasonable rate
between Souakimn and Suez.
There is a fine grey limestone in the neighbourhood of Katariff.
The collection of people is exceedingly interesting upon a market
day, as Arabs of all tribes, Tokrooris, and some few Abyssinians,
concentrate from distant points. Many of the Arab women would be
exceedingly pretty were their beauty not destroyed by their
custom of gashing the cheeks in three wounds upon either side;
this is inflicted during infancy. Scars are considered
ornamental, and some of the women are much disfigured by such
marks upon their arms and backs; even the men, without exception,
are scarified upon their cheeks. The inhabitants of Kordofan and
Darfur, who are generally prized as slaves, are invariably
marked, not only with simple scars, but by cicatrices raised high
above the natural surface by means of salt rubbed into the
wounds; these unsightly deformities are considered to be great
personal attractions. The Arab women are full of absurd
superstitions; should a woman be in an interesting condition, she
will creep under the body of a strong camel, believing that the
act of passing between the fore and hind legs will endue her
child with the strength of the animal. Young infants are scored
with a razor longitudinally down the back and abdomen, to improve
their constitutions.
I engaged six strong Tokrooris--natives of Darfur--who agreed to
accompany me for five months. These people are a tribe of
Mahometan negroes, of whom I shall speak more hereafter; they are
generally very powerful and courageous, and I preferred a few men
of this race to a party entirely composed of Arabs. Our great
difficulty was to procure a slave woman to grind the corn and to
make the bread for the people. No proprietor would let his slave
on hire to go upon such a journey, and it was impossible to start
without one; the only resource was to purchase the freedom of
some woman, and to engage her as a servant for the trip. Even
this was difficult, as slaves were scarce and in great demand:
however, at last I heard of a man who had a Galla slave who was
clever at making bread, as it had been her duty to make cakes for
sale in the bazaar upon market days. After some delays I
succeeded in obtaining an interview with both the master and
slave at the same time; the former was an Arab, hard at dealing,
but, as I did not wish to drive a bargain, I agreed to the price,
thirty-five dollars, 7l. The name of the woman was Barrake; she
was about twenty-two years of age, brown in complexion, fat, and
strong; rather tall, and altogether she was a fine
powerful-looking woman, but decidedly not pretty; her hair was
elaborately dressed in hundreds of long narrow curls, so thickly
smeared with castor oil that the grease had covered her naked
shoulders; in addition to this, as she had been recently under
the hands of the hairdresser, there was an amount of fat and
other nastiness upon her head that gave her the appearance of
being nearly grey.
I now counted out thirty-five dollars, which I placed in two
piles upon the table, and through the medium of Mahomet I
explained to her that she was no longer a slave, as that sum had
purchased her freedom; at the same time, as it was a large amount
that I had paid, I expected she would remain with us as a servant
until our journey should be over, at which time she should
receive a certain sum in money, as wages at the usual rate.
Mahomet did not agree with this style of address to a slave,
therefore he slightly altered it in the translation, which I at
once detected. The woman looked frightened and uneasy at the
conclusion; I immediately asked Mahomet what he had told her.
"Same like master tell to me!" replied the indignant Mahomet.
"Then have the kindness to repeat to me in English what you said
to her;" I replied. "I tell that slave woman same like master's
word; I tell her master one very good master, she Barrake one
very bad woman; all that good dollars master pay, too much money
for such a bad woman. Now she's master's slave; she belong to
master like a dog; if she not make plenty of good bread, work
hard all day, early morning, late in night, master take a big
stick, break her head."
This was the substance of a translation of my address tinged with
Mahomet's colouring, as being more adapted for the ears of a
slave!I My wife was present, and being much annoyed, we both
assured the woman that Mahomet was wrong, and I insisted upon his
explaining to her literally that "no Englishman could hold a
slave; that the money I had paid rendered her entirely free; that
she would not even be compelled to remain with us, but she could
do as she thought proper; that both her mistress and I should be
exceedingly kind to her, and we would subsequently find her a
good situation in Cairo; in the meantime she would receive good
clothes and wages."
This, Mahomet, much against his will, was obliged to translate
literally. The effect was magical; the woman, who had looked
frightened and unhappy, suddenly beamed with smiles, and without
any warning she ran towards me, and in an instant I found myself
embraced in her loving arms; she pressed me to her bosom, and
smothered me with castor oily kisses, while her greasy ringlets
hung upon my face and neck. How long this entertainment would
have lasted I cannot tell, but I was obliged to cry "Caffa!
Caffa!" (enough! enough!) as it looked improper, and the
perfumery was too rich; fortunately my wife was present, but she
did not appear to enjoy it more than I did; my snow-white blouse
was soiled and greasy, and for the rest of the day I was a
disagreeable compound of smells, castor oil, tallow, musk,
sandal-wood, burnt shells, and Barrake.
Mahomet and Barrake herself, I believe, were the only people who
really enjoyed this little event. "Ha!" Mahomet exclaimed, "this
is your own fault! You insisted upon speaking kindly, and telling
her that she is not a slave, now she thinks that she is one of
your WIVES!" This was the real fact; the unfortunate Barrake had
deceived herself; never having been free, she could not
understand the use of freedom unless she was to be a wife. She
had understood my little address as a proposal, and of course she
was disappointed; but, as an action for breach of promise cannot
be pressed in the Soudan, poor Barrake, although free, had not
the happy rights of a free-born Englishwoman, who can heal her
broken heart with a pecuniary plaster, and console herself with
damages for the loss of a lover.
We were ready to start, having our party of servants complete,
six Tokrooris--Moosa, Abdoolahi, Abderachman, Hassan, Adow, and
Hadji Ali, with Mahomet, Wat Gamma, Bacheet, Mahomet secundus (a
groom), and Barrake; total eleven men and the cook.
When half way to Wat el Negur, we found the whole country in
alarm, Mek Nimmur having suddenly made a foray. He had crossed
the Atbara, and plundered the district, and driven off large
numbers of cattle and camels, after having killed a considerable
number of people. No doubt the reports were somewhat exaggerated,
but the inhabitants of the district were flying from their
villages, with their herds, and were flocking to Katariff. We
arrived at Wat el Negur on the 3d of December, and we now felt
the advantage of our friendship with the good Sheik Achmet, who,
being a friend of Mek Nimmur, had saved our effects during our
absence; these would otherwise have been plundered, as the
robbers had paid him a visit;--he had removed our tents and
baggage to his own house for protection. Not only had he thus
protected our effects, but he had taken the opportunity of
delivering the polite message to Mek Nimmur that I had entrusted
to his charge--expressing a wish to pay him a visit as a
countryman and friend of Mr. Mansfield Parkyns, who had formerly
been so well received by his father.
In a few days the whole country was up. Troops of the Dabaina
Arabs, under the command of Mahmoud Wat Said (who had now assumed
the chieftainship of the tribe after the death of his brother
Atalan), gathered on the frontier, while about 2,000 Egyptian
regulars marched against Gellabat, and attacked the Abyssinians
and Tokrooris, who had united. Several hundreds of the Tokrooris
were killed, and the Abyssinians retreated to the mountains.
Large bodies of Egyptian irregulars threatened Mek Nimmur's
country, but the wily Mek was too much for them. The Jalyn Arabs
were his friends; and, although they paid tribute to the Egyptian
Government from their frontier villages, they acted as spies, and
kept Mek Nimmur au courant of the enemy's movements. The Hamran
Arabs, those mighty hunters with the sword, were thorough
Ishmaelites, and although nominally subject to Egypt, they were
well known as secret friends to Mek Nimmur; and it was believed
that they conveyed information of the localities where the
Dabaina and Shookeryha Arabs had collected their herds. Upon
these Mek Nimmur had a knack of pouncing unexpectedly, when he
was supposed to be a hundred miles in an opposite direction.
The dry weather had introduced a season of anarchy along the
whole frontier. The Atbara was fordable in many places, and it no
longer formed the impassable barrier that necessitated peace. Mek
Nimmur (the Leopard King) showed the cunning and ability of his
namesake by pouncing upon his prey without a moment's warning,
and retreating with equal dexterity. This frontier warfare,
skilfully conducted by Mek Nimmur, was most advantageous to
Theodorus, the King of Abyssinia, as the defence of the boundary
was maintained against Egypt by a constant guerilla warfare. Upon
several occasions, expeditions on a large scale had been
organized against Mek Nimmur by the Governor-General of the
Soudan; but they had invariably failed, as he retreated to the
inaccessible mountains, where he had beaten them with loss, and
they had simply wreaked their vengeance by burning the deserted
villages of straw huts in the low lands, that a few dollars would
quickly rebuild. Mek Nimmur was a most unpleasant neighbour to
the Egyptian Government, and accordingly he was a great friend of
the King Theodorus; he was, in fact, a shield that protected the
heart of Abyssinia.
As I have already described, the Base were always at war with
everybody; and as Mek Nimmur and the Abyssinians were constantly
fighting with the Egyptians, the passage of the Atbara to the
east bank was the commencement of a territory where the sword and
lance represented the only law. The Hamran Arabs dared not
venture with their flocks farther east than Geera, on the
Settite, about twenty-five miles from Wat el Negur. From the
point of junction of the Settite with the Atbara opposite Tomat
to Geera, they were now encamped with their herds upon the
borders of the river for the dry season. I sent a messenger to
their sheik, Owat, accompanied by Mahomet, with the firman of the
Viceroy, and I requested him to supply me with elephant-hunters
(aggageers) and guides to accompany me into the Base and Mek
Nimmur's country.
My intention was to thoroughly examine all the great rivers of
Abyssinia that were tributaries to the Nile. These were the
Settite, Royan, Angrab, Salaam, Rahad, Dinder, and the Blue Nile.
If possible, I should traverse the Galla country, and crossing
the Blue Nile, I should endeavour to reach the White Nile. But
this latter idea I subsequently found impracticable, as it would
have interfered with the proper season for my projected journey
up the White Nile in search of the sources.
During the absence of Mahomet, I received a very polite message
from Mek Nimmur, accompanied by a present of twenty pounds of
coffee, with an invitation to pay him a visit. His country lay
between the Settite river and the Bahr Salaam; thus without his
invitation I might have found it difficult to traverse his
territory;--so far, all went well. I returned my salaams, and
sent word that we intended to hunt through the Base country,
after which we should have the honour of passing a few days with
him on our road to the river Salaam, at which place we intended
to hunt elephants and rhinoceros. Mahomet returned, accompanied
by a large party of Hamran Arabs, including several hunters, one
of whom was Sheik Abou Do Roussoul, the nephew of Sheik Owat; as
his name in full was too long, he generally went by the
abbreviation "Abou Do." He was a splendid fellow, a little above
six feet one, with a light active figure, but exceedingly well
developed muscles: his face was strikingly handsome; his eyes
were like those of a giraffe, but the sudden glance of an eagle
lighted them up with a flash during the excitement of
conversation, which showed little of the giraffe's gentle
character. Abou Do was the only tall man of the party, the others
were of middle height, with the exception of a little fellow
named Jali, who was not above five feet four inches, but
wonderfully muscular, and in expression a regular daredevil.
There were two parties of hunters, one under Abou Do, and the
other consisting of four brothers Sherrif. The latter were the
most celebrated aggageers among the renowned tribe of the Hamran;
their father and grandfather had been mighty Nimrods, and the
broadswords wielded by their strong arms had descended to the men
who now upheld the prestige of the ancient blades. The eldest was
Taher Sherrif; his second brother, Roder Sherrif, was a very
small, active-looking man, with a withered left arm. An elephant
had at one time killed his horse, and on the same occasion had
driven its sharp tusk through the arm of the rider, completely
splitting the limb, and splintering the bone from the elbow-joint
to the wrist to such an extent, that by degrees the fragments had
sloughed away, and the arm had become shrivelled and withered. It
now resembled a mass of dried leather, twisted into a deformity,
without the slightest shape of an arm; this was about fourteen
inches in length from the shoulder; the stiff and crippled hand,
with contracted fingers, resembled the claw of a vulture.
In spite of his maimed condition, Roder Sherrif was the most
celebrated leader in the elephant hunt. His was the dangerous
post to ride close to the head of the infuriated animal and
provoke the charge, and then to lead the elephant in pursuit,
while the aggageers attacked it from behind; it was in the
performance of this duty that he had met with the accident, as
his horse had fallen over some hidden obstacle, and was
immediately caught. Being an exceedingly light weight he had
continued to occupy this important position in the hunt, and the
rigid fingers of the left hand served as a hook, upon which he
could hang the reins.
My battery of rifles was now laid upon a mat for examination;
they were in beautiful condition, and they excited the admiration
of the entire party. The perfection of workmanship did not appear
to interest them so much as the size of the bores; they thrust
their fingers down each muzzle, until they at last came to the
"Baby," when, finding that two fingers could be easily
introduced, they at once fell in love with that rifle in
particular. My men explained that it was a "Jenna el Mootfah"
(child of a cannon). "Sahe, Jenna el Mootfah kabeer," they
replied (it is true, it is the child of a very big cannon). Their
delight was made perfect by the exhibition of the half-pound
explosive shell, the effects of which were duly explained. I told
them that I was an old elephant hunter, but that I did not hunt
for the sake of the ivory, as I wished to explore the country to
discover the cause of the Nile inundations, therefore I wished to
examine carefully the various Abyssinian rivers; but as I had
heard they were wonderful sportsmen, I should like them to join
my party, and we could both hunt and explore together. They
replied that they knew every nook and corner of the entire
country as far as Mek Nimmur's and the Base, but that in the
latter country we must be prepared to fight, as they made a
practice of showing no quarter to the Base, because they received
none from them; thus we should require a strong party. I pointed
to my rifles, which I explained were odds against the Base, who
were without fire-arms; and we arranged to start together on the
17th of December.
In the interval I was busily engaged in making bullets for the
journey, with an admixture of one pound of quicksilver to twelve
of lead. This hardens the bullet at the same time that it
increases the weight, but great caution must be observed in the
manufacture, as the mercury, being heavier than the lead, will
sink to the bottom, unless stirred with a red-hot iron when
mixed. The admixture must take place in small quantities,
otherwise the quicksilver will evaporate if exposed to a great
heat. Thus the molten lead should be kept upon the fire in a
large reservoir, while a portion of quicksilver should be added
regularly to every ladleful taken for immediate use. This should
be well stirred before it is poured into the mould. Bullets
formed of this mixture of metals are far superior to any others.
My preparations for the journey were soon completed. We had
passed a most agreeable time at Wat el Negur. Although I had not
had much shooting, I gained much experienee in the country,
having made several extensive journeys in the neighbourhood, and
our constant conversations with the sheik had somewhat improved
my Arabic. I had discovered several plants hitherto unknown to
me,--among others, a peculiar bulb, from which I had prepared
excellent arrowroot. This produced several tubers resembling
sweet potatoes, but exceedingly long and thin; it was known by
the Arabs as "baboon." I pierced with a nail a sheet of tin from
the lining of a packing case, and I quickly improvised a grater,
upon which I reduced the bulb to pulp. This I washed in water,
and when strained through cotton cloth, it was allowed to settle
for several hours. The clear water was then poured off; and the
thick sediment, when dried in the sun, became arrowroot of the
best quality. The Arabs had no idea of this preparation, but
simply roasted the roots on the embers.
On the 17th of August, 1861, accompanied by the German Florian,
we started from Wat el Negur, and said good-bye to our very kind
friend, Sheik Achmet, who insisted upon presenting us with a
strong but exceedingly light angarep (bedstead), suitable for
camel travelling, and an excellent water-skin, that we should be
constantly reminded of him, night and day.
Florian was in a weak condition, as he had suffered much from
fever throughout the rainy season. He started under
disadvantageous circumstances, as he had purchased a horse that
was a bad bargain. The Arabs, who are sharp practitioners, had
dealt hardly with him, as they had sold him a wretched brute that
could make no other use of its legs than to kick. Of course they
had imposed upon poor Florian a long history of how this horse in
a giraffe hunt had been the first at the death, &c. &c., and he,
the deceived, had promised to shoot a hippopotamus to give them
in barter. This he had already done, and he had exchanged a river
horse, worth twenty dollars, for a terrestrial horse, worth
twenty piastres.
Florian had never mounted a horse in his lifetime as his shooting
had always been on foot. This he now explained to us, although
the confession was quite unnecessary, as his first attempt at
mounting was made upon the wrong side.
Throughout his journey to Geera on the Settite, there was a
constant difference of opinion between him and his new purchase,
until we suddenly heard a heavy fall. Upon looking back, I
perceived Florian like a spread eagle on his stomach upon the
ground, lying before the horse, who was quietly looking at his
new master. On another occasion, I heard a torrent of abuse
expressed in German, and upon turning round I found him clinging
to the neck of his animal, having lost both stirrups, while his
rifle had fallen to the ground. He was now cursing his beast,
whom he accused of wilful murder, for having replied by a kick to
a slight tap he had administered with a stick. I could not help
suggesting that he would find it awkward should he be obliged to
escape from an elephant upon that animal in rough and difficult
ground where good riding would be essential; and he declared that
nothing should tempt him either to hunt or to escape from any
beast on horseback, as he would rather trust to his legs.
Upon arriving at Geera, we bivouacked upon the sandy bed of the
river, which had much changed in appearance since our last visit.
Although much superior to the Atbara, the stream was confined to
a deep channel about 120 yards wide, in the centre of the now dry
bed of rounded pebbles and sand. Exactly opposite were extensive
encampments of the Hamran Arabs, who were congregated in
thousands between this point and the Atbara junction. Their limit
for pasturage was about six miles up stream from Geera, beyond
which point they dare not trust their flocks on account of their
enemies, the Base.
We were immediately visited, upon our arrival, by a number of
Arabs, including the Sheik Abou Do, from whom I purchased two
good milk goats to accompany us upon our journey. I had already
procured one at Wat el Negur in exchange for a few strips of
hippopotamus hide for making whips.
Lions were roaring all night close to our sleeping place; there
were many of these animals in this neighbourhood, as they were
attracted by the flocks of the Arabs.
On the following morning, at daybreak, several Arabs arrived with
a report that elephants had been drinking in the river within
half an hour's march of our sleeping place. I immediately started
with my men, accompanied by Florian, and we shortly arrived upon
the tracks of the herd. I had three Hamran Arabs as trackers, one
of whom, Taher Noor, had engaged to accompany us throughout the
expedition.
For about eight miles we followed the spoor through high-dried
grass and thorny bush, until we at length arrived at dense jungle
of kittar,--the most formidable of the hooked thorn mimosas. Here
the tracks appeared to wander; some elephants having travelled
straight ahead, while others had strayed to the right and left.
While engaged in determining the path of the herd, we observed
four giraffes at about half a mile distant, but they had already
perceived us, and were in full flight. For about two hours we
travelled upon the circuitous tracks of the elephants to no
purpose, when we suddenly were startled by the shrill trumpet of
one of these animals in the thick thorns, a few hundred yards to
our left. The ground was so intensely hard and dry that it was
impossible to distinguish the new tracks from the old, which
crossed and recrossed in all directions. I therefore decided to
walk carefully along the outskirts of the jungle, trusting to
find their place of entrance by the fresh broken boughs. In about
an hour we had thus examined two or three miles, without
discovering a clue to their recent path, when we turned round a
clump of bushes, and suddenly came in view of two grand
elephants, standing at the edge of the dense thorns; having our
wind, they vanished instantly into the the jungle. We could not
follow them, as their course was down wind; we therefore made a
circuit to leeward for about a mile, and, finding that the
elephants had not crossed in that direction, we felt sure that we
must come upon them with the wind in our favour should they still
be within the thorny jungle; this was certain, as it was their
favourite retreat.
With the greatest labour I led the way, creeping frequently upon
my hands and knees to avoid the hooks of the kittar bush, and
occasionally listening for a sound. At length, after upwards of
an hour passed in this slow and fatiguing advance, I distinctly
heard the flap of an elephant's ear, shortly followed by the deep
guttural sigh of one of those animals, within a few paces, but so
dense was the screen of jungle that I could see nothing. We
waited for some minutes, but not the slightest sound could be
heard; the elephants were aware of danger, and they were, like
ourselves, listening attentively for the first intimation of an
enemy. This was a highly exciting moment; should they charge,
there would not be a possibility of escape, as the hooked thorns
rendered any sudden movement almost impracticable. In another
moment, there was a tremendous crash; and, with a sound like a
whirlwind, the herd dashed through the crackling jungle. I rushed
forward, as I was uncertain whether they were in advance or
retreat; leaving a small sample of my nose upon a kittar thorn,
and tearing my way, with naked arms, through what, in cold blood,
would have appeared impossible, I caught sight of two elephants
leading across my path, with the herd following in a dense mass
behind them. Firing a shot at the leading elephant, simply in the
endeavour to check the herd, I repeated with the left-hand barrel
at the head of his companion; this staggered him, and threw the
main body into confusion: they immediately closed up in a dense
mass, and bore everything before them, but the herd exhibited
merely an impenetrable array of hind quarters wedged together so
firmly that it was impossible to obtain a head or shoulder shot.
I was within fifteen paces of them, and so compactly were they
packed, that with all their immense strength they could not at
once force so extensive a front through the tough and powerful
branches of the dense kittar. For about half a minute they were
absolutely checked, and they bored forward with all their might
in their determination to open a road through the matted thorns:
the elastic boughs, bent from their position, sprang back with
dangerous force, and would have fractured the skull of any one
who came within their sweep. A very large elephant was on the
left flank, and for an instant this turned obliquely to the left;
I quickly seized the opportunity and fired the "Baby," with an
explosive shell, aimed far back in the flank, trusting that it
would penetrate beneath the opposite shoulder. The recoil of the
"Baby," loaded with ten drachms of the strongest powder and a
half-pound shell, spun me round like a top--it was difficult to
say which was staggered the most severely, the elephant or
myself; however, we both recovered, and I seized one of my double
rifles, a Reilly No. 10, that was quickly pushed into my hand by
my Tokroori, Hadji Ali. This was done just in time, as an
elephant from the baffled herd turned sharp round, and, with its
immense ears cocked, it charged down upon us with a scream of
rage. "One of us she must have if I miss!"
This was the first downright charge of an African elephant that
I had seen, and instinctively I followed my old Ceylon plan of
waiting for a close shot. She lowered her head when within about
six yards, and I fired low for the centre of the forehead,
exactly in the swelling above the root of the trunk. She
collapsed to the shot, and fell dead, with a heavy shock, upon
the ground. At the same moment, the thorny barrier gave way
before the pressure of the herd, and the elephants disappeared in
the thick jungle, through which it was impossible to follow them.
I had suffered terribly from the hooked thorns, and the men
likewise. This had been a capital trial for my Tokrooris, who had
behaved remarkably well, and had I gained much confidence by my
successful forehead shot at the elephant when in full charge; but
I must confess that this is the only instance in which I have
succeeded in killing an African elephant by the front shot,
although I have steadily tried the experiment upon subsequent
occasions.
Florian had not had an opportunity of firing a shot, as I had
been in his way, and he could not pass on one side owing to the
thorns.
We had very little time to examine the elephant, as we were far
from home, and the sun was already low. I felt convinced that the
other elephant could not be far off, after having received the
"Baby's" half-pound shell carefully directed, and I resolved to
return on the following morning with many people and camels to
divide the flesh. It was dark by the time we arrived at the
tents, and the news immediately spread through the Arab camp that
two elephants had been killed.
On the following morning we started, and, upon arrival at the
dead elephant, we followed the tracks of that wounded by the
"Baby." The blood upon the bushes guided us in a few minutes to
the spot where the elephant lay dead, at about 300 yards'
distance. The whole day passed in flaying the two animals, and
cutting off the flesh, which was packed in large gum sacks, with
which the camels were loaded. I was curious to examine the effect
of the half-pound shell: it had entered the flank on the right
side, breaking the rib upon which it had exploded; it had then
passed through the stomach and the lower portion of the lungs,
both of which were terribly shattered, and breaking one of the
fore-ribs on the left side, it had lodged beneath the skin of the
shoulder. This was irresistible work, and the elephant had
evidently dropped in a few minutes after having received the
shell.
The conical bullet of quicksilver and lead, propelled by seven
drachms of powder, had entered the exact centre of the forehead
of the elephant No. 1, and, having passed completely through the
brain and the back part of the skull, we found it sticking fast
in the spine, BETWEEN THE SHOULDERS. These No. 10 Reillys* were
wonderfully powerful rifles, and exceedingly handy; they weighed
fourteen pounds, and were admirably adapted for dangerous game.
I measured both the elephants accurately with a tape: that killed
by the "Baby" was nine feet six inches from the forefoot to the
shoulder, the other was eight feet three inches. It is a common
mistake that twice the circumference of the foot is the height of
an elephant; there is no such rule that can be depended upon, as
their feet vary in size without any relative proportion to the
height of the animal.
* They are now in England at Mr. Reilly's, No. 215, Oxford
Street, having accompanied me throughout my expedition,
and they have never been out of order.
A most interesting fact had occurred: when I found the larger
elephant, killed by the "Baby," I noticed an old wound unhealed
and full of matter in the front of the left shoulder; the bowels
were shot through, and were green in various places. Florian
suggested that it must be an elephant that I had wounded at Wat
el Negur; we tracked the course of the bullet most carefully,
until we at length discovered my unmistakeable bullet of
quicksilver and lead, almost uninjured, in the fleshy part of the
thigh, imbedded in an unhealed wound. Thus, by a curious chance,
upon my first interview with African elephants by daylight, I had
killed the identical elephant that I had wounded at Wat el Negur
forty-three days ago in the dhurra plantation, twenty-eight miles
distant! Both these elephants were females. It was the custom of
these active creatures to invade the dhurra fields from this
great distance, and to return to these almost impenetrable thorny
jungles, where they were safe from the attack of the aggageers,
but not from the rifles.
On our return to camp, the rejoicings were great; the women
yelled as usual, and I delighted the Hamrans by dividing the
meat, and presenting them with the hides for shields. I gave Abou
Do, and all the hunters, and my camel drivers, large quantities
of fat; and I found that I was accredited as a brother hunter by
the knights of the sword, who acknowledged that their weapons
were useless in the thick jungles of Tooleet, the name of the
place where we had killed the elephants.